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Week 9 Running Back Rankings - Standard Leagues

Your Week 9 running back bible. All hail Todd Gurley.

By Matias Wodner
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

What an awful week for running backs that was. Le'Veon Bell is lost for the season. Matt Forte has an MCL injury and will be out for a few weeks. Khiry Robinson suffered a leg injury and is out for the season. Reggie Bush tore his ACL and is out for the season. Please, football gods, can we go one week without significant injuries to players and without the running back position being turned upside down? I doubt it.

Rank Player Team Opponent Analysis
1 Devonta Freeman Atlanta Falcons @SF Hasn't found the end zone the last two weeks, but he will this week.
2 Todd Gurley St. Louis Rams @MIN He might already be the best RB in football.
3 Mark Ingram New Orleans Saints TEN Arguably the most underrated fantasy RB this year, he'll now get even more touches with Robinson out.
4 Chris Ivory New York Jets JAX Will find much more room to run this week.
5 Jeremy Hill Cincinnati Bengals CLE Operated as the feature back last week. Also, Cleveland Browns run defense.
6 LeSean McCoy Buffalo Bills MIA Played well the two weeks before his bye, and should be fully healthy now coming up against a weak Dolphins run defense.
7 Doug Martin Tampa Bay Buccaneers NYG He looks even better than his rookie year self.
8 Dion Lewis New England Patriots WAS He is so good in this Pats offense.
9 DeAngelo Williams Pittsburgh Steelers OAK Taking over for Bell and has been great when filling in for him. Tough matchup, though.
10 Adrian Peterson Minnesota Vikings STL Hasn't scored since Week 4. Has been good, but needs TDs.
11 Jonathan Stewart Carolina Panthers GB J Stew looks good and he gets a Packers defense that just gave up 3 rushing TDs to the Broncos.
12 Jeremy Langford Chicago Bears @SD The Chargers run defense was much better last week, but Langford will get a full workload with Forte out.
13 Lamar Miller Miami Dolphins @BUF Three straight weeks with a TD. Bills run defense has been vulnerable.
14 Eddie Lacy Green Bay Packers @CAR Looked healthy again against the Broncos, but gets another tough draw this week.
15 DeMarco Murray Philadelphia Eagles @DAL The DeMarco revenge game in Dallas is upon us. He's going to have to work hard for his yards against an underrated Cowboys run defense.
16 Latavius Murray Oakland Raiders @PIT He might be matchup proof at this point.
17 Darren McFadden Dallas Cowboys PHI Are we back in Arkansas circa 2007?
18 Ronnie Hillman Denver Broncos @IND Got the majority of carries and the goal-line touches.
19 Duke Johnson Cleveland Browns @CIN Has been very consistent and should get a lot of touches in this game, especially with their other RBs struggling.
20 Frank Gore Indianapolis Colts DEN Has been really consistent since a slow first two weeks.
21 LeGarrette Blount New England Patriots WAS I think the Redskins will get blown out, meaning plenty of carries for Blount to do damage.
22 Giovani Bernard Cincinnati Bengals CLE Cleveland Browns run defense.
23 C.J. Anderson Denver Broncos @IND Looked like his 2014 self and gets another good matchup this week. Hillman is still probably the starter, but Anderson will get plenty of touches.
24 T.J. Yeldon Jacksonville Jaguars @NYJ Fresh off the bye week and comes up against a Jets defense that didn't seem interested in tackling last week.
25 Antonio Andrews Tennessee Titans @NO Has easily been the Titans best RB. Should find success against a weak Saints defense.
26 Danny Woodhead San Diego Chargers CHI His week-to-week usage is kind of enigmatic right now.
27 Charles Sims Tampa Bay Buccaneers NYG Owns a pretty big role in their offense and will definitely be needed in what should be a high-scoring affair.
28 Ryan Mathews Philadelphia Eagles @DAL Is a big play waiting to happen, but isn't getting many touches.
29 C.J. Spiller New Orleans Saints TEN Should see an uptick in touches with Robinson done for the season.
30 Melvin Gordon San Diego Chargers CHI He's not good right now, but the Chargers are intent on feeding him for some reason.
31 Shane Vereen New York Giants @TB Might be the most trustworthy fantasy option in their backfield, which isn't really saying much.
32 Matt Jones Washington Redskins @NE The Redskins RB situation is a mess.
33 Dexter McCluster Tennessee Titans @NO The Titans will probably be throwing a lot this week.
34 Isaiah Crowell Cleveland Browns @CIN He has 23 yards on his last 18 carries, but gets a good matchup. If he does anything with it, though, is an entirely different story.
35 Orleans Darkwa New York Giants @TB Had to leave last week's game, but should be fine this week. He's looked like their best RB.
36 Taiwan Jones Oakland Raiders @PIT Becoming a bigger part of the offense and doing damage with his touches.
37 Ahmad Bradshaw Indianapolis Colts DEN Strictly the passing down back, but that's been good for him with the Colts falling behind often.
38 Alfred Morris Washington Redskins @NE The Redskins RB situation is a mess.
39 Kendall Gaskins San Francisco 49ers ATL He might start, but this offense could be one of the worst of all time with Blaine Gabbert at QB.
40 Chris Thompson Washington Redskins @NE The Redskins RB situation is a mess.
41 Rashad Jennings New York Giants @TB I don't know how to rank the Giants RBs at this point.
42 James Starks Green Bay Packers @CAR Got nearly the same amount of touches as Lacy, but did absolutely nothing with them.
43 Christine Michael Dallas Cowboys PHI McFadden is the workhorse, but Michael will see a few touches per game.
44 Tevin Coleman Atlanta Falcons @SF He barely plays.
45 Karlos Williams Buffalo Bills MIA Should be back this week, but unsure of how many carries he will see..
46 Mike Tolbert Carolina Panthers GB Maybe he'll vulture a goal line TD.
47 Bishop Sankey Tennessee Titans @NO Might the new head coach give him a chance. Probably not.
48 Jonas Gray Miami Dolphins @BUF Spells Lamar Miller every now and then.
49 Tre Mason St. Louis Rams @MIN Saw 15 carries last week. Probably won't this week.
50 Pierre Thomas San Francisco 49ers ATL Could see immediate playing time, but might not.